Hi I’m Terry, and I’m going to share some of my favorite authors and books this month. My reading style is all over the map, though I generally read a lot of science fiction and dystopian and/or post-apocalyptic fiction. Here are some of my favorites:

I’ll start with Kim Stanley Robinson and his book The Years of Rice and Salt. This was an interesting piece of alternative history which involves the Black Death during the middle ages killing 99% of Europeans instead of the third to half of the population in our history. This allows Middle Eastern, East Asian and Native American cultures to flourish in their stead leading to different world outcomes. The story is told through 10 generations with each group reincarnating throughout the history of the alternate timeline. If you’re looking for an interesting read that takes you outside of what we know to be true then you should definitely check it out. Other titles I enjoyed were 2312 and The Wild Shore.

If you’re looking for something a little lighter and funnier, check out Christopher Moore. He writes absurdist fiction, usually involving an every man or woman becoming involved with supernatural or extraordinary situations. My first, and favorite, novel I read by him was Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It starts with Biff being resurrected in the 20th century to complete missing parts of the bible. He proceeds to tell a humorous story of his and Joshua’s’ missing years where they travel eastward in search of the Three Wise Men to help Joshua become the Messiah, and the antics and misadventures they encounter. As long as you can handle a little religious satire this is a hilarious book and a quick read. Some other titles I enjoyed were Fluke and Bloodsucking Fiends.

For a look at how the world might be in the future, check out The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. This Hugo and Nebula Award winning novel depicts the world 200 years into the future where climate change has raised the oceans and drastically changed the landscape, carbon fuel sources have been depleted, and biotech companies control the remaining food crops which have been ravaged by bioterrorism, plagues, and mutant pests, and maintain this control through private armies and economic hitmen. These companies are constantly on the search for new sources of original seed stock as most other. The story takes place in Thailand, which is below sea level and protected from flooding by levees and pumps. It is told through the perspective of several characters, including an Economic hitman for one of the Biotech on an undercover mission, a captain for the enforcement wing of the Environment Ministry, and Emiko, a genetically modified “Windup” girl. This book was a fascinating, faced paced read through a somewhat familiar, and in many ways alien, world, showing the possible outcome of forces that are in effect today. A warning though: There are two violent and disturbing rape scenes, so if you’re sensitive to such depictions it may be best to avoid this one.

If you like large series that span several generations then check out the Emberverse series, which is part of the greater Change universe, starting with Dies the Fire, by S. M. Stirling. In a world where most modern technology, including gunpowder, stops working, a disparate group of people must come together to survive. The culture they develop reverts to a feudal system and throughout the books they have to deal with learning to be self-sufficient, warlords, cannibals, and the underlying mystery for why technology has stopped working. There are exciting battle scenes with medieval type weapons, romance, drama.

And last but not least is Margaret Atwood, probably most famous for her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which is a modern classic depicting a dystopian world where declining birth rates and a sharp rise in birth defects has lead to religious fanatics taking over the United States to form the Republic of Gilead. Women have lost all self-determination and are grouped into different castes, with those who are able to reproduce being known as Handmaids and used by the elite. The story is told through one of these Handmaids named Offred. It is not light reading by any means, but covers so many different topics and is excellently written. Another favorite of mine was The MaddAddam trilogy starting with Oryx and Crake.

Thanks for reading and I hope you try out some of these titles and find some new authors you enjoy!

Have you read every single book by all of your favorite authors? Do they not write fast enough to satisfy you? Are you craving a new series to fall in love with? Try these three strategies for finding a new Favorite Author!

1. Search “If you Like” in your computer's search engine. There are thousands of libraries, book clubs, & avid readers who have put out lists of similar authors. Simply type “If you like__________(name of favorite author)” into any search engine and you should get many lists to peruse. These will often have many great suggestions and ideas to try. Remember that these lists are people's opinions and you may or may not agree with them. There also often include obscure authors that may be hard to find. We are happy to help you with a search and to give our opinion. This is a great place to start getting some ideas. Just pick up something by a new author, read the synopsis on the back of the book and see if it sounds interesting!

2. Read about a theme. What books have you read lately that have sparked your interest? Did they include something that you would like to read about further? Maybe an interesting location? A certain type of animal? A time period? A hobby? These are all fun ways to find new books & authors. Read books all set in China or Egypt. (Super fun if you're going to be visiting there soon or have recently) Read all of the books that came out last year about elephants. Which ones did you like? Read more by those authors. Do you love knitting/gardening/dogs/cats/national parks/travel? There are so many fiction books written around a theme. It is a great way to read about something that you are interested in while finding a new author to love!

3. Read Anthologies! Short stories are not my first choice but I have found that they can be a great source for finding new authors. I often try to get an anthology that includes an author that I am already familiar with. This gives me at least one story that I should enjoy. Anthologies typically feature authors with compatible writing styles, subjects or common themes. If you don't like a story, don't worry, it will be over soon! If you do, great, try out some of that author's complete novels! In our store, anthologies are located at the end of each genre section. ie: Mysteries are at the end of the Mystery & Adventure section, Literature collections are at the end of the Fiction section. I have found a couple of my favorites this way!

Let us know if you'd like guidance with any of these strategies—we're happy to help!